The Jet Business
The Jet Business
More and more private jets are landing at Basque airports, attracted mostly by the glittering Michelin Stars that have turned the Basque Country into a fine dining destination known on a global level. Because we were amazed by the great number of millionaires we transport in our BASQUE LUXURY TRAVEL SERVICE vehicles from the airport terminals to the most exclusive restaurants and hotels, we wanted to get the “inside scoop” on the private aviation industry from one of its greatest exponents: Steve Varsano.
We traveled to London to personally meet the man who designs and sells private planes to business tycoons and those with great fortunes around the world. He started his career more than four decades ago in the USA, but he has been in London for years, where he has a showroom on Park Lane –just opposite Hyde Park–, known as The Jet Business. In his shop window, a piece of a fuselage from an Airbus A319 catches the eye of all those who pass by. A secretary invites us to go inside this aircraft, fitted out as a luxurious private jet, where Steve Varsano himself is waiting for us. He takes us through his offices, immaculate and extremely elegant, like a scene from Gattaca, where they keep track of all the jets that come onto the market and advise their clients on what plane best fits their exact needs.
Through an application projected onto a giant screen the size of an airplane, Varsano explains to us the steps to follow to choose a jet: habitual journeys to be made, the number of passengers, the plane’s age (most people buy secondhand), budget, and cabin configuration. There are currently approximately 7,000 luxury planes in circulation, and Varsano has sold more than 300. The Boeing Business Jet, Airbus ACJ318, Embraer Lineage 1000, and Gulfstream G650ER are just some of the models available at the moment, and their purchase and conditioning prices vary between about 12 and 60 million euros, although there are billionaires who pay more – a Boeing 767-300 has gone as high as 245 million. The Jet Business is the shop for anyone who is thinking about buying a toy with which to take to the skies.
